The Six
by Ao Uta
Summary: We are the six to end the plan of the supernatural beings before it can commence. The celestial spirit has issued to us a mandate that we shall fulfill. As we battle to keep balance between the worlds, as we capture the ones plaguing our world as we speak; we encounter into issues along the way. Will revelations, betrayals, secrets, dysfunction, and lies lead to our demise?
1. Prologue

**A/N: Since there are not many supernatural stories on this site , I figured I'd create my own. Enjoy!**

**Prologue**

The supernatural beings of the other world, Jensei, are creating a plot for the domination of Earth. As they grow closer to their invasion day, we battle, train, and fight those who cross over to our world. As the battle rages on, it is invisible to the naked eye. Those who are unaware, shall be victimized by these creatures, and it is our job to protect them.

We are the six to end the plan of the supernatural beings before it can commence. The celestial spirit has issued to us a mandate that we shall fulfill. As we battle to keep balance between the worlds, as we capture the ones plaguing our world as we speak; we run into issues along the way. That, however, does not keep us from doing our jobs.

Allow me to introduce ourselves.

I am Mashiro Rima, the sharp weapons expert. Being trained in the art of kata, I am able to fight at hand to hand combat as well. My temper can cause great damage to an opponent, but as well to certain team members.

Our brain of the group is Fujisaki Nagihiko. He organizes missions, sets up the plans, and helps put them into action. He is also trained in aikido and naginatajutsu. His sarcasm can interfere with a plan, however, resulting in earlier said damage to a team member.

Our blunt weapons expert is Souma Kukai. He doesn't have much martial arts training, so if he loses his weapon, he's toast.

Yuiki Yaya is our close range weapons expert. She uses pistols, double barrel shotguns, varmint rifles, and more. Her small stature also helps her avoid attacks. However, she can let her emotions get the best of her during a battle.

Our medical expert is Hotori Tadase, who has volunteered to leave battle to attend to a wounded group member, but has to do this quite frequently do to clumsiness.

Lastly, we have Hinamori Amu, who is our martial arts expert. She is trained in judo, kata, aikido, jujutsu, kenjustu, battojutsu, and iaijutsu. She is the klutz, being known to trip over air.

So there you have it. The six that have the destiny of the world in their hands. The oddball group of teens.

_Great_ _huh?_


	2. Traning Mishaps

**A/N: I got excited, so I'm going to start writing this now! EEK! All of the story will be in Rima's POV.**

**Chapter 1**

"Amu! How in the world did you get down?! We haven't even begun training!" I spat harshly at the klutz of our group. She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, trying to tame the bruise forming there. I sighed exasperatedly, pinching the bridge of my nose as I did so. Nagihiko was face deep into a book that quite frankly didn't seem very interesting instead of paying attention to our training, Yaya was crying because she dropped her candy, Kukai was doing lord knows what, and Tadase was tending to Amu—more like drooling over her.

These were the people I was given to work with? I felt my anger boil inside me, but I refused to let that side of me show just then.

'_Give them one more chance, Rima.' _I told myself. I inhaled deeply and exhaled.

"You guys," I started. They looked up, paying attention to me.

'_This might not be too hard.'_ I thought to myself. Big mistake.

"If we could just focus on the lesson maybe we co-"

"Yaya, stop crying! I got you more candy!"

"Don't be mean, Kukai-tan!"

"Can you guys shut up? I'm trying to read."

"My head hurts."

"Your eyes look beautiful when you're in pain-"

"Everyone shush! My god, it's like having a class of kindergarteners in here! Good grief, just get to training so we won't have a repeat of our last battle!" I yelled. No one wanted what happened last time.

* * *

_An Eximar demon stood over a child, making the child cower in fear. The demon's slimy, greasy exterior dripped onto the child's face, causing him to scream and run. It moved quite slowly, closely resembling a burgundy version of Jabba the Hut. _

"_Leave that child alone! You're supposed to take care of children, not scare them!" Amu started._

"_Save the heroic speech, Amu." I sweat dropped, just trying to end this before my shows. It couldn't have been able to evade my blows- it moved too slow._

"_Let's end this quickly." I said, annoyance present in my tone. I grabbed my daggers out of their holsters, diving straight for its head. Once my daggers went through, however, they sunk in._

"_Guess that didn't work…" I muttered. Yaya pulled out her shot gun, aiming for its head as well. The bullet sunk in and dissolved._

"_So The Six can't touch it. Sorry Amu-chi, Yaya guesses Amu-chi ca-" Yaya turned, but found Amu face down on the grass, having tripped on a nearby rock._

"…_Really?" Yaya sighed. A battle cry sounded from Kukai as he charged at the demon, but was repelled by its blasts of its corrosive juices._

_Guess that's two for Tadase._

_I looked at Nagihiko who seemed to be analyzing the demon._

"_Got anything, pretty boy?" I asked, charging at the demon again. This time, my katanas were smoking before I withdrew them._

"_If I did wouldn't I tell you, smart one?" _

_**Swish**_

"_Rima-chan! You threw a shuriken by my face!" He whined._

"_Sorry, I missed. I won't next time." I forced a smile. He rolled his eyes, and continued analyzing it. As my attacks continued (and failed), I began to run out of options._

"_SALT!" Nagihiko cried. I looked at him oddly. "Tadase! Give me the salt from the kit!" _

"_Where are you even going with this?" I asked, confused._

"_It's an Eximar demon, or as we would call them, slug demons. Their atomic structures are extremely similar to those of slugs, despite the genetic mutations within them-"_

"_So just pour salt on it?" I cut him off- his "smart talk" was giving me a headache._

"_Yes, that's correct."_

"_Okay then, here we go." Tadase handed me the salt, in which I gave to Yaya. It was in a dissolvable muslin bag, and would dissolve on contact with the demon's skin. She loaded her slingshot with the baggies and fired at the demon, making it howl in pain. Its body began to trickle off and ooze until all that was left was a puddle._

"_Now to finish this once and for all." Nagihiko stated. He took a vanquishing fire bomb and dropped it in the puddle, causing it to splash back onto all of us._

"_Great, pretty boy." I muttered, trying to get the gunk out of my hair._

* * *

"We'll get to work!" They shouted in unison.

Each of us had an obstacle course to assess their abilities in a controlled environment.

"First up: Nagihiko." I stated. Nagihiko walked up, putting his hair into a low ponytail as he did so. He took his naginata off the shelf and went to the starting line.

_**BEGIN**_

Nagihiko took deep breaths as made sense of his surroundings.

Two practice robots charged at Nagihiko, but he evaded one, and swiped his naginata across the other's throat, clearing the first level. The robots sparked and burned out slowly as Nagihiko looked back at them, smirking. An obstacle course was next, including a pit of fire-for when the gates of hell come cracking through the Earth on invasion day-, a spike course-for the countless weapons that shall come at him-, combat, and blind combat-combat done in heavy smoke.

Nagihiko ran, jumping off the walls to evade the fire pit, coming into a tuck as he landed. He dodged spikes, getting snagged by one every few times. His clothes began to become shredded; something he knew he had to work on. Then, he reached combat, where he'd have to take on eight robots coming at him at once.

'_How am I going to do this…?'_ He thought to himself. His heart began to race as he tried to analyze the situation, forgetting about the opponents he was facing. They came at him all at once, tackling him to the ground.

_**END COURSE**_

_'Stupid,' _ Nagihiko murmered to himself as he placed the naginata back onto it's rack on the shelf.

_'Note to self: Don't over-think, and work on evasion skills.' _He told himself, mentally beating himself up. He always took things like this seriously, so why not today?

"Good job, Nagi, now go take a water break." I said, patting him on his back. Maybe seeing him almost get pummeled by robots made me feel sorry for him.

"Next, Amu."

"W-What? But Rima, I'm no good." Amu whined. I shot her a glare, and she stood quickly. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself.

_**BEGIN **_

Amu kicked off the head of one robot, and took down the other effortlessly. If she wasn't so clumsy, she would've been a beast. She looked at the fire pit ahead of her, and her fear kicked it. What if she fell in? What if she died?

_'Deep breaths, Amu. You can do this.'_ She told herself. As she began to run to the fire pit, her doubt kicked in.

_'No I_ _can't!' _

Amu attempted to evade the fire pit, but slipped off the wall, falling into the bright orange flames, screaming as she did so.

_"Crap."_

_"Hinamori-San!"_

"_Amu-chan!"_

_"Amu-chi!"_

_"Hinamori!"_


	3. Blackout

**A/N: Oh no, what's happened to our beloved Amu-chan?**

**The Six**

_Last Time on __**The Six**__: _

_'Deep breaths, Amu. You can do this.' She told herself. As she began to run to the fire pit, her doubt kicked in._

_'No I can't!'_

_Amu attempted to evade the fire pit, but slipped off the wall, falling into the bright orange flames, screaming as she did so._

_"Crap."_

_"Hinamori-San!"_

_"Amu-chan!"_

_"Amu-chi!"_

_"Hinamori!"_

**Chapter 2:**

I looked at all the frantic faces and giggled slightly. They all looked back at me, wondering why I wasn't worried as well. My best friend fell into the fire, and was most likely dead!

"Turn off the course, Mashiro!" Kukai yelled, looking at me dumbfounded. They knew I could be emotionless sometimes, but giggling at my best friend's possible death?

"Okay, okay. Don't lose your head." I waved dismissively. They looked at each other, and back at me. Why was I being so heartless? I pulled the lever to end the course, opening the walls surrounding it.

'_They're all idiots…' _I thought to myself.

"Amu, you can get up; it's not real fire." I rolled her eyes; Amu could be dense sometimes.

Amu stood up, fake flames flying around her. She smiled sheepishly, and sweat-dropped.

"That's probably why I wasn't burning, huh?" Amu chuckled nervously. I giggled again and helped her out of the fire pit.

"So _that's_ why you weren't worried?" Nagihiko tapped his chin, turning his head to me. I looked at him incredulously. Wasn't he supposed to be the smart one? And did they really think I was _that_ heartless? I had a reputation for being sort of an ice-queen, I get that, but that was only to protect me. I had grown accustomed to The Guardians and I could take them on easily if I felt threatened, since I know their weaknesses. I shook my head, and sighed.

"Next; Yaya." I called. Yaya looked up from the bag of candy Kukai had given her and smiled. She popped a lollipop into her mouth, and walked to the starting line.

"Yaya, shouldn't you take the lollipop out of your mouth? It's a choking hazard." Nagihiko stated. _Now_ he wanted to be smart.

Yaya looked back at him, but with a face that didn't seem to be her own.

"_Never_ tell Yaya what to do with candy." She stated evilly, venom lacing her words. Nagihiko raised his hands defensively and Yaya smiled her own smile once more.

'_Whew,'_ Everyone thought simultaneously. Yaya picked up her weapons- a pistol, a slingshot, and ammunition for both- and headed to the checkered starting line.

She untied her ribbons and put them on the shelf instead, along with her ponytail holders, letting her hair fall loosely to her shoulders.

I smiled, enjoying this. I loved seeing Yaya go into _**beast mode**_. She'd get rid of her baby-ish demeanor and go all at what came in her way. There was a determined glint in her eyes, taking the baby out of her completely.

_**BEGIN**_

Yaya sprinted in, two robots coming at her, and she glared at them. She somersaulted over one, and smashed the second's head in. The remaining robot attempted to swing at her, but she ducked effortlessly. Once she came back up, her pistol was in its face.

_Bang._

It fell to the ground, and Yaya smirked. She walked to the second portion of the course- the pit of fire. She giggled, remembering Amu's slip up. She ricocheted off of the walls, and went into a tuck, landing on her feet. She looked back at the fire pit, waved, and went to the final portions.

She looked at the empty room and smirked.

'_Rima's been lacking, huh?_ She thought as she waltzed into the room.

Spikes began to fly out from the walls, making her step back in surprise. Her eyes widened, and she panicked, one of the spikes snagging her in the arm. She yelped, and I turned off the course.

_**END COURSE**_

"Tadase! Attend to Yaya's injury." I shouted at him. He nodded, bringing out a gauze, ointment, and spray.

"Next we have…" I looked at my list. "Kukai."

"Alright!" He smiled, grabbing his steel bat off and a feather off the shelf. The teens looked at one another, and back at him. A _bat_ was his choice of weapon? Not the medieval flail? Nothing better than the bat? And a _feather_.

"I know what I'm doing, don't look at me like that." He scoffed. He walked to the starting line, obviously excited.

_**BEGI-**_

Before the automated voice could finish sounding, Kukai charged, knocking off the robots' heads and he ran through. We sweat-dropped. He jumped over the pit of fire, narrowly missing plunging into it, He looked at the empty room, and tested it gingerly. He let the feather flutter in, and spikes came at it. He knocked the spikes off of the wall and walked through.

Next, eight robots charged at him at once, and he swung his bat, knocking them into the wall. He went, smashing them with the bat until they were mere pieces of scrap metal and bolts. Next, he entered a smoke filled room. He coughed, trying to see over the heavy smog-like cloud.

_Wham!_

Kukai was knocked on his butt by a robot, and I turned off the course.

_**END COURSE**_

I helped him out, and high-fived him. He had gotten the farthest out of us all, and it would probably stay that way.

"Since Tadase is tending to Yaya, I guess I'll go," I said. I put my hair into a high bun. I picked up my katana and daggers, heading to the starting line. Nagihiko began the course.

_**BEGIN**_

I ran in, two robots coming at me from both sides. I jabbed one in the chest with my dagger and sliced the other's head with my katana. I withdrew my weapons and continued to the fire pit. I dived for the other side, forward rolling onto the other side. The spike room came next, and they hurled at me. I did a standing full, evading the spikes, and tucked out of the room.

'_And my mom thought nothing good would come out of cheerleading.' _I thought, laughing.

Eight robots came at me at once, and I attempted to evade them, but two of them tripped me up.

_**END COURSE**_

I got up, the robots frozen in front of me, and then going to their original positions. I exited the course, and sighed. That course was a lot harder than I expected it to be.

"Alright Tadase, your tu-" I turned to him, and shook my head. Yaya had one small cut. This boy wrapped her whole arm in 7 inches of gauze. Safety was a definite priority for him, huh?

Tadase nodded, walking to the course. He got some supplies to create whatever concoctions he intended on creating, a shield, goggles, and headed to the starting line.

_**BEGIN**_

He dodged the robots, and ran to the pit of fire, mixing his ingredients and tied them into a muslin bag. He threw it at the robots, tying his goggles on and holding up his shield.

_Boom_

He looked up from his shield, seeing the robots blackened by the explosion, and smiled happily. He jumped over the pit of fire, and headed for the spike course. He created another mixture and tied it into a muslin bag, and threw it at the course. The spikes ripped it to shreds, and they melted upon contact. He walked through easily.

Next, he got to the combat, which he was never good at. He tried to run away from the robots, but one pushed him down.

_**END COURSE**_

Tadase got up and dusted himself off, and glared at the robot. It pushed him down like a bully would push down a victim.

He walked out of the course, glare still on his face, and was met with shocked faces.

"How in the world did you learn to do that, Hotori?" I said.

"A medicine expert can create quite the explosion." He smiled. I laughed slightly, and turned to the rest of the group.

"Okay, you guys, that's a wrap for tonight. Go get some sleep." Nagihiko spoke. We nodded and left. I packed my gym bag back up with my weapons, and sighed. Everyone else had already gone. I opened up Kusukusu's shell, and she was sleeping peacefully. I smiled, and walked out of the arena, turning off the lights as I did so.

As soon as I was halfway to my house, my head started pounding. I dropped my bag, and I clutched it. Nausea took over me as I fell to my knees.

"R-Rima?" I heard Kusukusu's voice say, a mixture of sleepy and worry.

"I-I'm fine," I managed to choke out. The headache wasn't fading, nor did it seem like it wanted to. I squeezed my eyes tightly, a gleam of gold forming in the darkness I saw. I felt like I was screaming but I heard no sound coming out.

_"You'll know where your loyalty lies.." _My world faded to black and I collapsed in a heap on the cold concrete.

"_Rima-chan!"_


	4. New News

"_You know where your loyalty lies…" A familiar face looked down at me deviously. It's face was the color of obsidian and it's skin scaly and rough. A twisted grin played on it's lips as it's fingertips sparked with flames.  
_

I twisted in my bed sheets, eyes scrunching up.

"_You'll never be one of them…" I searched my surroundings frantically, trying to grab hold of some piece of reality, but my efforts were pointless. I backed up, trying to get away from this demon's touch.  
_

I turned over, groaning slightly.

"_My sweet child, it's time for your spirit to awaken!" It outstretched it's long fingers of one hand with the other on my throat. I couldn't move. I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. It touched it's burning finger to my forehead and it's eyes glowed a bright gold, and soon enough, so did mine.  
_

I got up quickly, my curls sticking to the sides of my cheeks with cold sweat. I was hyperventilating, and my eyes searched the room frantically.

'_What the hell...__It was just a dream…' _I thought to myself as I stood, putting my hair into a high ponytail. I looked down, and I was still in my practice clothes. I also had on my headband. Didn't I get home safely? I knew every time I got home the first thing I did was change. So why didn't I that night? I shook my head, trying not go get worked up again- I had enough crazy for one night. I slipped out of bed and dragged myself to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on my face.

Then, I felt a presence behind me. I was ready to attack when I realized it wasn't a threat.

"Rima! Thank goodness, you're up! I was so worried!" Kusukusu exclaimed, hugging my cheek. I gave her a soft, forced smiled, hugging her back.

"How did I get here?" I asked her, confused. I could have sworn I was just past the tree that marks halfway.

"Nagi carried you here!" Kusukusu smiled, giggling. My cheeks turned a bit pink, but I shook it off.

"I guess I'll thank him at training today then…" I turned slightly to look at the alarm clock on my dresser.

"2:34 am, huh? Well, I'm already awake, and I don't plan on going back to sleep. I might as well get a work out in beforehand." I stood, dressing myself in my black sweatpants, white tank top, wrapped my hands in athletic tape, and headed to the gym.

I opened my door, and stepped out of my home, delving into my thoughts. What had happened? Why did I get so sick suddenly?

'_You know where your loyalty stands…'_ Yeah, to the people I train with everyday. There was no question about it. So why did I feel so misconstrued?

'_You can never be one of them…_' What did that even mean? I was already apart of them. I think?

"Ouch!" I yelped. I was so consumed in my thoughts that I walked into the glass. Kusukusu giggled, and opened the door. I smiled at her, rubbing my nose slightly.

"Rima…is your nose bleeding?" Kusukusu asked as if she was confused. I looked at my hand, and there was a substance in it, although it wasn't red. Why was my blood…black?

"Um.. Yeah, I think…It's okay, I'll just go to the restroom and get it cleaned up…" I trailed off. Something weird was happening to me, and I had no idea what it was. First the unexpected nausea, then fainting, now the black blood? What was wrong with me?

I got some tissue, wet it, and put it over my nose, tilting my head back. I glanced at Kusukusu, who looked at me worriedly. Once I stopped bleeding, I threw the tissue away and washed my hands, wrapping my hands in more athletic tape. I headed over to the fitness area, and went to the elliptical. I pressed quick start, and flipped to a song I wanted to listen to on my iPod.

"Ezo…no. Anthem…nah. Babymetal…? Yes!" I turned on Ijime, Dame, Zettai- my favorite single by them- and headed with my workout. My music was blasting in my ears, and I was unaware of the outside world-the way I liked it.

_Sore sae mo mote-nakute_

_hikari to yami no hazama_

_hitori._

_Kizutsuita no wa_

_jibun jishin dake ja naku_

_mitsume-tsuzukete kureta_

_anata._

A tap on my shoulder ripped me from my wonderland.

"Rima-tan listens to heavy metal?" I turned to see Yaya, in work out attire as well. She adorned a bright pink water bottle in one hand, and a yellow towel in the other. Pepe sat on her shoulder, sleeping comfortably.

"Yeah. It's the only genre I have on my iPod, to be honest." I admitted, letting her search through my artists.

"Wow…okay then!" Yay smiled brightly, handing the iPod back to me. I looked at the time on my iPod, and it read 3:25 am.

"Yaya, why are you up?" I Asked her. She looked at me, and giggled.

"Yaya couldn't sleep. She had a dream that her little duckies were eaten by a big bad wolf!" Classic Yaya.

She mounted one of the treadmills, pressed quick start as well, and began.

As I ran, I got lost in my thoughts. The demon looked so familiar. It was like I had seen it before, but it was repressed. Why did it's eyes glow the way they did? What did it mean by loyalty? What did it want from me?

After about three hours, we headed to the training grounds, and were greeted by our friends.

"Hey, Fujisaki, come here for a second." He looked up, obviously concocting a battle strategy, but walked over to me anyways.

"What's up, Rima-chan?" He asked, a slight smile on his face.

"I wanted to thank you for taking me home last night." I muttered, turning my head slightly. He chuckled, and turned, as if he was going to walk away.

I turned as well, surprised that I got no, "You're welcome," or "It was an honor,". I felt someone grab my head and ruffle my hair.

"It was no problem, Rima-chan." Nagihiko smiled widely, letting go, and finally walking away.

_Swish_

"Rima-chan! You threw a shuriken at me!" He exclaimed, surprised at the sudden aggression shown by myself. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose out of habit. The two leaders shouldn't have acted so dysfunctional, yet that didn't mean that we would stop.

"Okay, everyone." Nagihiko spoke up. "Today we'll be working on defense trainings. I've set up groups; Myself against Kukai, Rima against Amu, and Yaya against Tadase. First up; Yaya against Tadase."

The two stepped up to the platform-approximately the size of a football field; the room was dark and silent. A flash of light went over the whole room, and turned off, then only going over the two on the platform. They looked at each other, determinedly. The platform rose, creating a pit surrounding them.

"The first one to knock the opponent off their feet shall be the victor." I said. Nagihiko nodded, as well as the opponents.

A bell chimed, signaling the beginning of the match.

Yaya charged at Tadase, taking out her gun loaded with pellets, and fired. Tadase flipped out of the line of fire. He took out a homemade flash grenade, pulled out the pin, and rolled it in Yaya's direction. She took no notice to it, and once the time was up, it blew up, stunning her. He took rope and tied it around her in her moment of weakness and rolled her off of the platform, into the pit of foam.

"Victor…Tadase…?" Nagihiko said with wide eyes. Tadase gave of his shining smile, and then jumped into the pit, helping Yaya out of her bondage.

"Wow, Tadase…" Yaya looked at him, surprised.

"Next, we have Amu and Rima."

As Amu and I stepped onto the platform, we smiled at each other. They were then crossed by the determination within us. Neither of us had planned to lose.


	5. Waru

_"Next, we have Amu and Rima."_

_As Amu and I stepped onto the platform, we smiled at each other. They were then crossed by the determination within us. Neither of us had planned to lose._

We both stared at each other with a stead-fast expression. The air was heavy and thick. No one said a peep. I closed my eyes as I waited, taking deep breaths.

The bell chimed and we were off.

I darted towards Amu and she did the same with me. She stopped to kick me in my chest, but I evaded it with a flip. I looked back and saw her coming again so I drew out a staff and knocked her in the knees with it. She stood back up after falling to the ground and cracked her knuckles.

"That all you got?" She smirked. Smack talk? Two could play at that game.

"You ain't seen nothing yet." I smiled slyly. We rushed towards each other once more. I slid underneath her legs and tripped her from behind, but she took me down with her. Once we were both down, she got up quickly and flipped me so I wouldn't get up again.

She put her foot on my chest, believing she was the victor. I chuckled from beneath her as I swiped her foot off of me and wrestled her to the ground, inching her towards the end of the platform.

**_Boom_**

A loud explosion erupted from the side of the training field, bringing us back to reality. Nagihiko raised the platform once more and ushered us over to check out the problem. A large demon with jet black skin and piercing eyes rose from the ashes. It's body was the form of a man and had scaly skin. Its fingertips glowed red. My eyes grew wide when I saw it as the dream played back in my head.

It formed a malevolent smile on its face as it spoke the words:

"_You know where your loyalty lies..."_

I hoped it was just a nightmare. I looked around frantically, but my friends were already off trying to fight it. This was real. This was happening. The thing from my dreams existed.

I shook the bewilderment off and ran to fight it along with my friends. I pulled out my daggers to fight but when I came up to it it stared at me. I heard my name being called vaguely, diminishing slowly. The area went black and my friends disappeared. It was as if we were in an empty black room, with nothing but myself and the demon, standing off in front of each other with white spotlights cast on us.

"_Soon, it will be time for you to awaken..." _The demon said slyly. It's eyes faded from black to gold. A grin plastered upon its face. It stepped closer to me each second. I tried to move but I was held in place.

"_Goodbye, my child. Daddy's going to leave you with a parting gift." _It grabbed my wrist and it seared with a hot, burning pain. I screamed shrilly as I was dropped to the ground, crashing back into reality. The demon cackled as it vanished. My friends gathered around me.

"Rima-chan? Are you alright?" Nagihiko asked me worriedly as he helped me up. I winced slightly but shook it off.

"Yeah, I'm alright. What just happened?" I rubbed my wrist. I looked down at it and saw a branding of a snake like figure encased in a circle.

"What the fuck?" I touched it gingerly and the pain seared again. I bit my lip to refrain from cursing.

"We were going to ask you to give us some clarity, Rima..." Amu said softly. "For a while, the demon trapped you and itself into a dark energy bubble. We couldn't break it."

"Then you screamed and it broke, then you came falling out." Kukai finished.

"Sorry guys. I'm just as in the dark as you guys." Rima said, disappointed.

"What's that on your arm?" Nagihiko notices. She shows him her wrist and he holds it carefully. His face scrunches up into confusion.

"C'mon, we're going to go figure out what this means. You guys stay and see if you can find any clues here." Nagihiko ordered. They all nodded in agreement.

* * *

"It says here that the demon we encountered is called Waru, and that is the symbol he leaves... on his children? What does that mean?" Nagihiko looked back at the symbol and at Rima. Rima shrugged her shoulders and looked away.

"Rima-chan, if you have any information that can help or contribute to this topic, it would be really helpful to know." Nagihiko stared her down.

"Okay okay," Rima gave up. "I've been having this reoccurring dream for a while. That demon, Waru, was in it. He'd touch me and both of our eyes would glow a bright gold. He kept saying that I knew where my loyalty lies, and kept calling me his child." Rima spilled everything.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Nagihiko's eyebrows furrowed.

"I thought it wasn't important, until recently I guess." Rima finished the conversation.

"Well, it says that he has dormant soliders, or children, waiting to be activated. But it doesn't say anything about them being human. These are all pictures of demons as well." Nagihiko slammed on the keyboard in frustration. "This isn't adding up...Have you noticed anything strange about yourself Rima-chan?"

"Are you trying to suggest I'm a demon?" Rima stepped back, flabbergasted.

"That's the only possible answer, Rima-chan. I know it seems crazy but that's the only thing I'm getting from this."

* * *

"You guys, I think I found something!" Kukai shouted, ushering Amu, Tadase, and Yaya over. They ran and found pieces of dark energy shattered as if it was glass. Kukai picked it up in awe.

"We can analyze these in the lab, right Tadase?" Tadase nodded in agreement with Kukai. "We need to get these to Nagihiko and Rima quick."

* * *

"I'm not a demon!" Rima shouted defensively. She crossed her arms over her chest and Nagihiko sighed exasperatedly.

"Rima. There's something crazy going on, and we have to get to the bottom of it-"

"That doesn't mean I'm apart of the problem!"

"I never said you were. At least lets try to work together to figure out the situation." Nagihiko outstretched his hand. Rima took it reluctantly.

"I ain't no damn demon..." She muttered stubbornly. "I have noticed something weird though..."

"What?" Nagihiko ushered for her to sit down as he did.

"This morning. I went to the gym. I wasn't really paying attention and I smacked into the glass. I though my nose was bleeding but my blood looked black.." Rima explained.

"Black blood, huh?"

"It LOOKED black. It might have just been really dark red because it was dark out."

"Okay, so dark red, presumed black blood. I'll search it." Nagihiko turned to his laptop and typed in black blood.

"This site says that the children of Waru have this black blood within them." Nagihiko turned to Rima.

"Ugh! What the hell is going on?" Rima almost pulled out her hair. She couldn't be a demon. She was the one fighting demons. She COULDN'T be a demon.

"I don't know, but we'll take you back to the lab. Run some tests."

"You're experimenting on me?!"

"No! Not experimenting. Taking DNA swabs. Hopefully the others have gotten something we can use." Nagihiko stood, heading out the door with Rima following.

**A/N: Oh how the tables have turned...**


	6. Half and Half?

**A/N: I'm not going to abandon these stories!**

Rima looked down at her wrist once more. Could what Nagihiko had been saying be true? All signs pointed to it. Rima just felt like she'd remember being a demon. None of what was going on was making any sense. She had two parents, a home _on Earth_ _and not in Hell_, went to school_ on Earth and not in Hell_, had friends, you get the gist. The point was, Rima couldn't possibly be a demon.

_'Surely doctors would've picked up on that too.' _She thought bitterly. They would've said something when they checked her after she was kidnapped.

The walk to the lab, AKA Tadase's basement, was long and painfully awkward. Nagihiko and Rima strode in silence, the air thick. What were they supposed to say to each other? "It's okay if you're a demon even though we fight to kill things like you and you've obviously been issued some mandate by your demon daddy?" That wouldn't smooth over too well.

"Rima-chan," Nagihiko started. He caught her staring at the brand. She looked back up at him, dropping her wrist and sighing.

"You know I won't think anything less of you, right?" He assured her. Rima stared at him blankly.

"Like I care what you think." She stated stubbornly, but after seeing his reacting, she chuckled. "Just kidding."

"Comedy gold." Nagihiko muttered. Rima snapped and pointed her fingers.

"That's the Queen of Comedy for 'ya." She smiled. Things were getting less tense. Even though something big could be happening, they always had to find some time for a little fun.

As they arrived at Tadase's house, they greeted the Hotori family. The Hotori's were always extremely pleasant and formal, which showed why Tadase was like he is. Apparently Tadase had told his parents they were working on a school project for the upcoming school year, since it was summertime.

_'Smooth.'_ Rima chuckled inwardly. They must have had some trust in Tadase. They made their way down to the basement and greeted their friends. They shut the door behind them, punching in a code, placing the holo-screen up to cover their tracks.

"Mashiro Rima," A voice from the side of the basement boomed. Rima turned her head nonchalantly. The celestial spirit, Tentai, waltzed over to her. The spirit glowed a vivid shade of lavender and it appeared to be female. It wore no clothes, seeing as though it didn't have parts to cover up, and it resembled a fairy with no wings. Its hair was long and flowed behind it, and its eyes were bright white with no pupils.

"You will find light in this darkness you have been born with. Series of denials and betrayals will knock you down, but you will rise again." It spoke. Rima raised an eyebrow at this. Betrayals? Tentai disappeared as soon as she appeared.

"Okay so that should basically solidify this." Rima said, slouching down onto the floor.

"We can't be positive, Mashiro. Tentai's prophecies haven't always been right." Kukai shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah! Yaya's still waiting on that 7th member!" She giggled. Rima rolled her eyes.

"Well, how are we going to figure this out?" Nagihiko finally asked. Tadase cleared his throat and brought out a rack of tools.

"Oh hell no." Rima deadpanned, ducking behind Nagihiko. "You're not experimenting on me!"

"We're not, you're right." Tadase agreed. "I just need some samples to analyze."

"What kind of samples?" Amu asked. Tadase brought out a needle.

"Blood samples. She has black blood, correct?" Tadase looked at Nagihiko. He nodded in response.

"Rima, please sit right here so I can get them." Tadase asked. Rima complied, walking over to him and plopping down in the seat. It felt weird being the focus point of the room. Tadase stuck the needle in her arm and she grimaced. As he drew it back, her blood began to fill the syringe. At first, she felt relieved. The blood was a clear, vivid shade of crimson. Then it began to swirl and become darker until it was nothing but pitch black.

"Oh my god." Amu muttered, trying not to have it heard. Instead, all eyes went on Amu in the room. She clamped her hand over her mouth and chuckled nervously. Once Tadase got enough, he pulled out two more syringes.

"Need at least three trials for accuracy." He stated. Rima groaned. Tadase repeated twice and then set the syringes onto the tool rack. Then he pulled out a muslin bag.

"What's that?" Rima asked curiously. Tadase smiled and poured its contents out in his hand. "Salt."

"You're going to trap me with salt, huh?" Rima asked knowingly. Tadase nodded.

"I put the blood in the analysis chamber. Now we need to do some old fashioned tests. One will be the ring of salt. See if you can get out of it." Rima nodded, standing up. Tadase sprinkled the salt around her feet. Once he completed the circle, he ushered for her to move. She extended her hand but was met with a force field.

Tadase sighed and then opened the circle, allowing her out. The chamber dinged and Tadase went to it.

"This is odd..." Tadase furrowed his brows, ushering for Nagihiko to join him. Nagihiko looked at the test and his expression was similar to Tadase's.

"Mind sharing what you see?" Rima called out, a bit irritated that they were staring at her blood like she was a freak show.

"Mashiro-san, these test state that you're human and demon." Tadase concluded. Rima's face then became confused.

"What? How can I be both?" Rima questioned. "I'm like, half-human, half-demon?"

"Well, not half and half. Much more demon than human. But the first test shows that there was more human than demon, and then it declined." Tadase read the results, still unsure of what to make out of them.

Suddenly, Rima grimaced, groaning as she slid to the floor. Yaya, Kukai, and Amu rushed to her side.

"Rima! Are you okay?" Amu asked worriedly. Rima wanted to lie and say she was alright, but couldn't form a sentence. Her head was pounding and she broke out into a sweat.

The guardian characters, sitting in their eggs the whole time, broke free from them and rushed to their bearers sides in case anything was to happen.

"Mashiro-san, what's going on?" Tadase's questions became quieter and quieter until Rima only heard a ringing in her ears. Her hands flew to them, trying to restrict the noise, but she had no luck.

_"Daddy's back," _She heard a voice whisper. Then, everything went black.

**A/N: Aw man.**


End file.
